


Apocalypse Alice

by Apocalypse_Alice



Category: Alice In Wonderland - Lewis Carroll, Borderlands, Disney - All Media Types, Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Alice in Wonderland, Alternate Universe - Future, Multi, Other, Post-Apocalypse, Science Fiction, War, Wonderland, Zombie Apocalypse
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-07
Updated: 2014-08-07
Packaged: 2018-02-12 06:35:28
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2099250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Apocalypse_Alice/pseuds/Apocalypse_Alice
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Neither Wonderland nor the Otherplace are what they used to be. After waking from her journey to Wonderland, Alice Liddell finds herself thrown into far more chaos than she could have ever bargained for.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Prologue

### The Pre-Prologue

Wonderland isn't what it used to be. The world is a dark place, and though we've managed to build portals between here and the Otherplace, it doesn't matter where you are. Safety is an issue now. I've lived between Wonderland and the Otherplace since I was young. I remember the first merry times I met the Cheshire Cat, the Mad Hatter. It was all so innocent back then. It's different now. Things are dangerous. The world has turned upside down, and for once, Wonderland seems to be the more sane of the two places. My name is Alice Liddell, and I am a revolutionary, and a fighter too. With the use of my handguns, Mystery and Romance, and of course, my trusty SMG, Disaster, I will continue to fight. When I'm out of bullets, you'll see me with sword and shield. I'm a survivor. I'm a winner. Nothing can stop me now. I will have my vengeance.

 

> _`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves_   
> _Did gyre and gimble in the wabe:_   
> _All mimsy were the borogoves,_   
> _And the mome raths outgrabe."_

 

### The Coma

Mother was an inventor, however, since I was born in the 1800s, many of her creations really didn't have much meaning to the general scientific community. Father was a brain surgeon. Or at least, he liked to think he was. In truth, he was a professor at an academy, dissecting brains and performing lobotomies before future generations of geniuses could crack the code that was neuroscience. Mother and Father, of course, were geniuses in their own rites, but nothing could have prepared them for the events that would take place during my childhood. When I was young, I fell down a rabbit hole. You may be familiar with my tale. I, through my extraplanar and extralinear travels, have discovered that I had, in the past, a sort of following. The truth is, unlike the story goes, I didn't actually wake (at least, not right away) from my little slumber at the very end of the odd trip into the place known as Wonderland. Instead, I stayed asleep.

Father's work changed to the study of dreams, in his mad effort to attempt to decide what was keeping me in the trance for so long. He lost his job at the academy- his theories were crackpot, at best. Mother worked day and night, tirelessly attempting to discover how she might reach into my consciousness, and let me know that my nap was taking far too long entirely. In the meantime, I grew strong within the world of Wonderland. I learned to fight with sword and shield, and eventually came to have a quick enough wit to combat against even the Caterpillar and all of his nonsense. Much time was spent there, until one day... I simply woke up. I just so happened to rise from this slumber on the same fateful day that my parent's work all came to an alarming peak.

 

> _"Beware the Jabberwock, my son!_   
> _The jaws that bite, the claws that catch!_   
> _Beware the Jubjub bird, and shun_   
> _The frumious Bandersnatch!"_
> 
>  
> 
>  

### The Time Machine

Mother had incorrectly calculated certain equations, thinking she had cracked the code necessary to make the leap back and forth between a person's consciousness. Instead of seeping into my mind, she had essentially ripped a hole in the very fabric of time. In her and my father's attempts to... stitch, for lack of a better word, that time-space hole closed, they built a device that could not only close the hole... but reopen it at will. This was, of course, what made me rise from my blessed sleep, my blessed time alone in Wonderland. As you would have it, the early models of this device were rather loud to operate. It must have just startled me awake.

Of course, news of the young lady who had fallen asleep when she was twelve, and woke again when she was seventeen, spread across the medical field like wildfire. My parents did all they could to attempt to hide the technology that they had created, knowing the whole while that such a creation could be used instead as a weapon. My mother formed a theory that if anything was meddled with in the past or the future, the consequences would be dire. As luck would have it, she was right all along.

A psychiatrist was assigned to me, to take record of all the strange things that I had to say. Many people thought I had simply lost my mind along the way out of what they called a 'coma', but I assure you, I had not. Despite my sanity, I began to be called 'Mad Alice'. I didn't mind so much... it gave me a warm feeling that reminded me much of my time at the Tea Parties I'd once attended so often. Eventually I came to realize that whatever had happened must have been a dream. My parents, of course, were grateful. So grateful, in fact, that eventually, the Psychiatrist, a certain M. Thompson, ended up becoming a key part of the eventual collapse of the world as I'd known it.

Thompson began to work with my parents, once they revealed to him the Timehopper, as they'd so lovingly begun to call it. I was, for the most part, kept out of the work, as my father was concerned that any further trauma to my brain would send me back into the madness they thought I'd come clean of. I would still like to know, quite frankly, why my parents of all people thought I was mad, though their invention had been something pulled from science-fiction itself. Unfortunately, Thompson was not the trusted individual we had thought him to be. One day, Father came home with a panicked expression. Men from the government had come to take the machine, at his workplace. It seemed that Thompson had loosened his lips, aiming to gain a pretty penny. Mother took our Timehopper, and though, in the past, she'd urged us never to use it to change events dramatically, claimed that the future was the only safe place for us... that they would not find us there.

And so we hopped... to the twenty-second century, as far as we could from those who had hunted us down so eagerly. We were lucky- M. Thompson was not. Upon arrival in our home, no evidence of us or the Timehopper were found. He was put in a madhouse for it, I think.

 

> _"He took his vorpal sword in hand:_   
> _Long time the manxome foe he sought -_   
> _So rested he by the Tumtum tree,_   
> _And stood awhile in thought."_
> 
>  
> 
>  

### The Twenty-Second

Time travel, in itself, is a very disconcerting, unappealing activity in the whole, if you ask my honest, humble opinion, and I would very much like to not take part in it ever again. Symptoms include itching fingers, headaches, nausea, and muscle pain. For the first several days after our arrival in the new time, my whole family and I were ill. We were quick about making ourselves seem as one in the new society we lived in. Father, the blessed old man, had at least remembered to bring our life savings with us. I wonder now what the banker back in the 1800's must have thought at that withdrawal. I also wonder what that old-time currency collector must have thought when the three of us arrived, looking like we'd walked out of a play, up to his door with such a large sum of money. I suppose it doesn't really matter now. I was placed in a junior college, Mother got a job as a pharmacist, and Father finally became the brain surgeon he'd always wanted to be. Somehow, they'd falsified enough documents to make themselves seem as if we'd all been in this century. Sometimes, I wonder if they'd a mind-controlling device in their array of inventions, but that would be rather whimsical, wouldn't it? In the mean time, of course, they continued their work on the machine. We moved to a place in what was called the 'suburbs'. I did not like it, the house was small, and as I remember, always smelled of curry.

I came to dislike curry with a passion.

Everything about this new time was strange. The clothing most people wore was odd, and despite mother and father's pleading with me, I refused to wear anything but the fashions of the time we had escaped. I seemed to garner much attention for doing so, and my clothing was often referred to as 'gothic' or 'lolita'. While I understand, thanks to the "internet" what these words are, I still do not entirely understand what the purpose of these titles had been, but now that the world is burning... I am not entirely sure it matters. Then again, not a whole lot seems to matter now. Idle thoughts, to be sure. I had many thoughts during the times living in those suburbs. I watched what was called the television, and I listened to the radio, despite my friends from the school thinking it was odd for me to own such a device, and not an mp3 player of some sort. I began to believe that something was very wrong with the time we had come to. Aside from being so full of odd new technologies, it was full of greed, hate, and war, much more than I had remembered as a child. But of course, I could never express this. We could never tell anyone who we truly were, at any cost. Or at least... I had thought there was no cost.

Eventually, my parents too fell to the evil corruption and greed that seemed to hold the time in its grasp. I didn't really think it was so bad at first, but with time, it became more clear. They revealed their invention to the scientific community, claiming, of course, (for our safety, father said,) that it was a new invention. At least they'd been smart enough to do so. It bought them a little more time. They were soon praised as some of the greatest scientists of the age, for their outstanding and revolutionary scientific success. We moved from the suburbs to a large house, where I saw less and less of them every day. They were working tirelessly on the next step.

 

> _"And, as in uffish thought he stood,_   
> _The Jabberwock, with eyes of flame,_   
> _Came whiffling through the tulgey wood,_   
> _And burbled as it came!"_
> 
>  
> 
>  

### The Downfall

In the nights following, I began to have vivid dreams. In these dreams, I'd hear voices... They were the voices of those I had known in Wonderland. Or at least, I was certain it was them. Night by night these voices got louder, and I grew to understand what they were saying more and more. Beware. Fight. Survive. Beware. Fight. Survive. Perhaps my parents did not notice, but I began to, in a way, go slightly mad all over again. But instead of letting it take a toll on my health, instead of saying a word... I began to train. I had seen enough movies by now to be inspired. I learned to use a gun, and learned to fight with my fists. My friends, few as they were, seemed to take an interest in the activities alongside me, which, perhaps, was what kept me in the clear for so long. When my mother asked me why I was so keen on going to the shooting range so often, I told her I was considering joining the Air Force. She and father were quite proud of me- so were the parents of my friends, except for Beatrice's. Beatrice's parents were hippies, as I recall.

While I trained tirelessly, my parents worked tirelessly. Every day they grew closer to their breakthrough. Every now and then, one of them would show their sweat-covered face in the kitchen, rambling about things I could only dream of understanding someday. I understand these things now, for I have read their journals. Had I known what these two had been up to... had I had the foresight... I might have tried to talk some sense into them. Then again... I don't think there was enough sense in the world to be had.

One day, they completed their work. It was a device, quite similar to the Timehopper. This one, however, could do something far more sinister. This new device, inspired by my comatose state hundreds of years ago, could rip holes in something other than time. It could rip a hole through space as we know it. For now, it could only get a person from point A to point B. It was, again, a revolutionary technology. I began to see it everywhere. People would teleport themselves to school. They'd teleport themselves to work. They'd teleport themselves to and from countries across the globe. But of course... humankind was greedy in this twenty-second century. They could not accept this as enough.

The government, the very government we'd fled from, took on my parents to improve the Transport Device. And so they did. After four more years, on the eve of my twenty-first birthday... or at least, what we were calling my twenty-first birthday... I'm not sure how old I can be considered, with so much time-travel in my past... In any case, it was the eve of my twenty-first birthday. On that day, the next evolution of the device that ultimately brought about the end was developed. Now, the Transport Device could not only take a person between places in the known world... It could take a person between the very fabric of space- to planes and dimensions previously unexplored by our own.

To be sure, at first, it was a wonderful discovery. Hundreds, if not thousands, (maybe even millions) of new species were discovered, new stories, new people, new technologies, and new medicines. Discovery had become the name of this century... we were now living in what scholars were calling the Second Age of Discovery. An elite portion of the military was created; called The Exploration Front; their mission to, as their name suggested, explore these new places. Things changed at home too. My parents were now incredibly wealthy, and once more we moved, to an even larger home. I had begun to become unattached to other humans, I found the constant loss of those near to me quite dull. I grew hard and perhaps cold towards others in the process. I felt in my gut the whole time that something was very, very wrong. After two months of good... the bad finally came.

Explorers set their sights on a new plane. The Inter-Planar Transport Device, or the IPTD, as the scientific community shortened it to, had lead the way to a stark place. Astronomers suggested that perhaps it was a distant planet in some undiscovered galaxy. In this place, there were humans, like us, struggling to survive while an evil corporation ruled over them. The discovery of such a horrible place was quick to finds its way to the media, and there was an outcry from various social justice groups to attempt to help these people. Wars were suggested, as governments refused to send aid to these other humans, claiming that any sort of change in the fabric of the planes could be devastating. This was, obviously, a lie, as previously, we had done nothing but trade between the planes. The people, however, were gullible, and bought the lies- hook, line, and sinker.

The Explorers now changed their mission. Their goal was to find and attempt to close any ports to the planes and dimensions that had such dystopian settings. Unfortunately, they were unskilled in this sort of work, as the technology was so new. The more the portals were opened by the ITPD Scientists, the more dystopias they discovered. Eventually, there was too much of it for them to hold back. The planes had, for the first time, started to seep into ours.

It started with extra-planar bandit raids from Pandora, the place we'd originally turned our heads away from. In their rage at our blatant refusal to help them, they turned on us, using a vast array of weaponry and magics that we had long forgotten how to defend ourselves against in this pseudo-utopia we'd thought we'd formed. One particular bandit raid opened up the portal to a world of horrific creatures, beasts that devastated cities, leveling anything in their path. It was odd. I quite remember one of those beasts being referred to as "Clover." From what I could see, and it wasn't much, on the television, Clover was nowhere near as cute as the name was. I wonder why that memory is so vivid.

In an attempt to neutralize the beasts that had come, scientists began working on an airborne virus they hoped would only effect those beasts, using pathogens we as humans were certain we'd a resistance to.

We were wrong.

 

> _"One, two! One, two! And through and through_   
> _The vorpal blade went snicker-snack!_   
> _He left it dead, and with its head_   
> _He went galumphing back."_
> 
>  
> 
>  

### The Great Collapse

Now, Earth is all but destroyed. The major countries have fallen. Bandits overrun the place, both from our world, and from the now gaping portals that have no scientists left to protect them. The Explorers have been eliminated. The Infected roam the streets, slowly killing off those not strong enough to withstand them. Monsters, perhaps even demons, from the other planes now roam alongside them. There is one government- The Syndicate- that rules over those of use who survive; but they are a corrupt people. I have spent the rest of my twenty-first year attempting to find ways to fight back. Just a month ago... I found what I needed.

In my searches, I returned to the place I lived when the Downfall had taken place. It was nearly rubble... but I was able to locate the stairway down to the laboratory. There it was- the prototype to the IPTD. At first, I didn't know what to do with it. I slept, that night, in my old bed. If, of course, you could call it sleep, clutching an SMG to your chest, ears keen to detect the faintest shuffle... the quietest groan of an Infected... the smallest rustle of a creature. Eventually, however, I did sleep, and in my sleep, I recalled Wonderland. It was a long shot, to be sure... but I had to be sure. I forced myself awake, and used the machine, and to my very luck... it worked. To my dismay, it seemed that things had crumbled inside of Wonderland itself... they too were faced with evil within; the corruption of the universe, the imbalance, all of it, had effected the place that had once been so colorful and bright. There were, of course, like me, survivors. And now, we stand as The Resistance.

 

> _"And, has thou slain the Jabberwock?_   
> _Come to my arms, my beamish boy!_   
> _O frabjous day! Callooh! Callay!'_   
> _He chortled in his joy."_
> 
>  
> 
>  

### The Resistance

The people of Earth, and of Wonderland, and truly, of the other planes as well, are being kept as practical slaves to The Syndicate. Those who don't know how to use a gun are practically bait for the Infected, and for the Creatures... and perhaps, even to starvation. It is cruel. It is unusual. My parents, as I have discovered, were eventually killed for their refusal to make any further improvements on the IPTD. In my heart, I feel a constant ache. I wish to right all the wrongs that have been done to this world. I wish for vengeance against those who treat these people of Earth, of Wonderland, and of the other planes, poorly. I wish for vengeance for my parents- foolish though they were. The Resistance now actively accepts those willing to fight for good, for a brighter future. I, alongside Mystery, Romance, and Disaster, lead the Resistance. We will prevail. Earth will not shatter.

 

> _"`Twas brillig, and the slithy toves_   
> _Did gyre and gimble in the wabe;_   
> _All mimsy were the borogoves,_   
> _And the mome raths outgrabe."_


	2. Morning at the Camp

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's morning at the camp. Plans must be made- allies are needed.

The wind felt hot today. Then again, I've noticed in the past few days that it's always hot, and nearly unbearably so. Of course, mother had always said that my internal thermometer must have been broken. The memory of my mother made me smile for a moment, a feeling that made the very corners of my lips feel as if they were about to crack. The smile left after a while, and a closed the locket that I'd been holding in my hand. I wore this locket at all times, usually tucked under my gear- inside were pictures of my parents, one on either side. The thing was heart-shaped, much to my distaste. I'd grown a general distaste for anything that had any sort of romantic vibe to it. I may have built up this distaste through the generally bad luck I'd had with the opposite sex (and the same sex) throughout the ages. Men were clueless, and women far too emotional.

The sound of crackling and popping escaped my body as I stood, my spine feeling as if I'd just stretched in some odd way. It probably didn't help that nearly every night, my men and I slept outdoors. Well. Nearly every night. Once every other weekend, I used the IPTD- the Inter-Planar Transport device, if you've forgotten, to go back to where I once lived, in the house in the suburbs. Well… what's left of the house that was in the suburbs. I think it must have been crushed by one of the creatures that escaped through the Staines portal, as Staines was only a bit away from Sunbury, where that house was located.

According to the Newton Geiszler Scale, the Staines Portal had been at the very least a C-class, since the creatures that had spawned through it had all ranged from Category III to Category V. Luckily for me, I suppose, I was no longer living in that place, when the portal had opened. The world seemed to have a nasty habit of doing that now. We humans, in the Alpha Universe (or at least, in their pride with themselves, the scientists had called our universe that,) had imbalanced the world- and the other worlds- so dramatically that the portals now seemed to open whenever they felt like making an appearance. I think it makes things more interesting. My friends do not.

"Awake already, Alice? You snored louder than usual."  
The voice of one of my closest friends pulled me from my little reverie. I turned my eyes, and looking as disheveled as always, there he stood. I smiled, despite myself, and once more, I could feel the corners of my lips cracking. Just as my own smile ceased, his smile began. He was always smiling- it was a thing that made me quite angry at times, for no reason whatsoever.

"Good morning, Chester. I'm glad you enjoyed the symphony." He snorted, and looked irritated. Chess hated it when I used his full name, though I didn't really know why. The man ran a hand through his dark violet hair, rolling his shoulders ever so slightly. I figured he must have been sore, just like I was. Luckily for me, Chess was a strong fellow, tall, with good muscular structure. He wasn't a beefcake, by any means, he was still lean, but he was strong nonetheless. A good fighter, a trustworthy friend.

"Symphony, my ass." We both laughed, and went about our ways for the morning. It was a sort of routine we went through every morning- we were always the first to rise, for some reason. I suppose now, that being awake at the same time isn't really all that unusual, before so many people had died, I could have sworn to you that the world was probably split right in half, between early-risers and late-risers. It was one of those opinions that I'd like to think everyone would agree with, as it's just good common sense. Then again, I spent many years in Wonderland, so what I consider common sense may not really be all that sensical at all.

Hare was the next to rise, and as always brought his flask to his lips. For a moment I thought to reprimand him, but I knew it just wouldn't do for me to dig into him for his alcoholism when he'd only just woken up. I rolled my eyes, and turned the other direction, I could smell something burning. I was quite pleased to see that there weren't Syndicate flags flying nearby. Instead, it was just Chess, standing there in his leather jacket, scratching at the back of his neck as he stared at the mess he'd just made. As it turned out, Chess was a terrible chef, and any time we let him cook in the morning, we regretted it right away. Thank god we'd met up with Eddie along the way.

Eddie's voice, as always, was cheerful and bright. He was a tall man, taller than even Chess, but he was a big man too. Sometimes I wondered how the fellow could keep up with us, with all of that extra weight. He did though, and he always came to the rescue, just like he was doing now, whenever Chess messed up a meal. He stretched as he sat up, and sniffed the air a few times before wincing. "You're never gonna learn are you?" There was a jolly tone in his voice. It was something I greatly appreciated about Eddie- his ability to find humor in absolutely everything. Next to him- his best friend, James, remained asleep. James stayed asleep as Eddie lumbered over to us. "Now, why can't you just hold your horses, let a guy get his rest, and let me take care of the cooking."

His laughter was slowly raising up the rest of our entourage, along with the now much better smelling aroma that drifted through the air. It was amazing how, despite our rations system, and despite the fact that we were living in an utterly devastating world, Eddie Rockborough had the seemingly magical ability to create meals that could fill a person up for a whole day. One of his meals could give a soldier the strength to fight a thousand fights- or at least, it seemed that way. I don't think I've, to this day, heard anyone voice a complaint about anything he's ever layed his hands on, food-wise. As it turns out, according to James, he's the absolute worst at fixing anything, however, and James refused to ever take his help with any of the mechanics.. Fixing things was James' job, along with helping to build just about anything the crew needed, from ballistas to battering rams, from walls and forts to cars and tanks. We called him the Carpenter, Eddie was the Walrus. I'm sure you know how I remembered them as a child.

After just a short while, just about everyone was awake, circled around the pot that Eddie had put over the fire. Over there were Seamus and Catriona, the twin firey-haired and quite freckled siblings in charge of bombs and ammunition, Bill (who frankly, was a bit of a dumb fellow, but his aim was good- we kept him around despite his flaws), and Hatter, who spoke in riddles yet came up with brilliant ideas whenever we least expected it. He also seemed to have the most memory about the more recent political problems in Wonderland. There was the idle chatter of the troops. A new voice piped up, and I felt a familiar hand on my shoulder. "You really -should- eat. We have much planned today."

I looked up with a little smile; the dark-haired fellow with the bright green eyes was there, just as I thought he'd be. He was our resident scholar, as well as a quite capable soldier. The only thing was, he had a horrible smoking habit, and was, admittedly, quite pompous at times- though, perhaps it was rightly so. He was the most intelligent man I've ever met in my life, even to this day. Despite our arguments that we had often, I was quite fond of him. "Hello, Caterpillar."

Just as soon as the words had left my lips, an annoyed expression grew on his face, to my very amusement. I'd always thought it a little funny when he lost his temper. "Cate! It's Cate! I've told you once, and I'll tell you a thousand times, it's Cate Reginald Pillar!" He tapped the golden embroidery on his coat- Cate R. Pillar. As a child, I'd misread the letters he'd put out in smoke, back when he still had access to his ability to change shape. Now that I was thinking about it, I realized that I hadn't seen anyone from Wonderland take on their old shapes… it must have been that they'd come here, to the Alpha Universe, where the magic was so different. The Wonderlanders called it the Otherplace. So did I- I still consider myself a Wonderlander.

I grinned up at him while a few of our fellow soldiers laughed as he continued to tap at his embroidery. "Cate. Cate's a French girl's name, isn't it?" I teased him, much to the amusement of our peers. It was of course, not to his amusement, which only amused us all further.

"It's a MASCULINE Greek name!" He let out a huff and plopped down next to me, and grumbled for a few more minutes until I was back on his good side.

He was right, though. We did have a long day ahead of us, and it would do me a great service to know just what the day had in store for us. I held up my gloved hand. The fingers of the leather glove were gone; I had snipped them off so that my fingers wouldn't be impaired by the extra fabric. So far, it's proved to be a useful adjustment. After a few moments, the general din of the whole feast- if you could call it that- silenced. For some reason, these people respected me, quite a bit. I suppose I'm grateful for that. My voice came out slightly more powerful than I had thought it would be.

I wondered to myself, for a moment, if my voice had become so strong, just as my body had- through all of the suffering and war we'd faced for so long. As usual, my wonderings didn't last for too terribly long. "Cate's right." Cate seemed to be quite glad that I used his proper name. "We do have a mission coming. Now, according to Cate, he's been in contact with the Rose Gang." There was a mumble from Hare, but I payed it no mind… the drunken bastard. "Today, we go back into Wonderland. We -must- recruit the gang. Their skills, if what Cate's studied is correct, will be quite valuable to us."

A murmur ran through the group like wildfire. The last time we'd gone a recruitment mission, we'd run into Mock Turtle. The fellow was too lost in his own self-hate that it was rather impossible to get him to join. To be frank, I'm rather glad he didn't join us. I hated him with a passion. "Please, please. This time, we're much stronger than before. That last raid was really quite impressive. We can do this." Eventually, and a little begrudgingly, I got my men (and women) to agree to the mission. "Good. Now, Cate, go ahead and tell us a bit more about your plan."

Cate stood with a little nod, adjusting the round spectacles that balanced over the bridge of his nose. He pulled the cigar he'd been smoking from his lips, and gestured a little as he spoke. "Alice, of course, will use the IPTD to open up a portal to Wonderland. The Tweedle Twins-" it was a nickname we had for Seamus and Catriona- "will watch the opening until it can successfully close, as we don't want any intruders from the Otherplace." I nodded, it was good thinking on Cate's part, and I hadn't even considered how important the little details would be. That's what Cate was good at- the little details.

"Once inside, we'll be splitting up. Be sure your radios are ON, we DO NOT need a repeat of the grocery raid." A very pointed stare was given to Hatter, who only gave a goofy grin and tip of the hat. "Team A- comprised of the Tweedles, Chess, myself, and Alice- will head to the Gardens, where I'm very sure we'll find the Rose Gang. Team B- that's the rest of you- will search for the White Rabbit. If anyone knows anything about medical, it's the rabbit." We'd been needing a good healer for the group, but it seemed most medical talent had been scooped up by the Syndicate already, for the Capital.

"What do we do if we've gathered the Rabbit before you have a chance to bring back the Rose Gang?" Bill, with yet another stupid question. If anyone's ever said that there's no such thing as a stupid question, than they've never met Bill. He'd been horrible in the Queen of Hearts' court all those years ago, and he was horrible now. Cate seemed to have the same opinion as me.

"Then you wait, idiot." There was a bit of laughter, until I raised my hand up once more.

"Alright, enough. Now, Hatter, since you seem to have the best memory of all of us, is there any sort of information you could provide on what the Rose Gang might be like? What should we expect?" Each head turned to face the chocolate-haired fellow with the tophat. He stood, and again tipped his hat, as if to greet us, though we all knew him very well. He always did have such strange tendencies.

"Well, you see, I see, it's very simple, but I'm not sure if you can see it." There was a collective sigh.  
"He's mad." Bill grunted. He was quickly elbowed in the side by Seamus.  
Hatter payed the comment no mind- he never did.

"The Rose Gang, lethal, deadly, I think. I know. I'm just afraid they'll give Alice a bit of a shock, yes." He glanced at me, with an odd expression. I couldn't quite place a finger on what that expression had meant… I know now, but it's far too late. In any case, he gave me the look, and it made me curious.

"Why would I be surprised?" I asked the same thing that a few others must have been wondering, as they all turned back to look at Hatter again.

"Things are not what you remember, in Wonderland, Alice. Not at all what you remember." There was a sort of solemness that went about the circle. Though the others had escaped Wonderland, to find me, I had only been back once since my childhood. I'd seen how bad things were…. or at least, how bad it looked. The way the others talked about it made it sound as if things ran far deeper than I could have possibly ever realized, just by seeing it.

For a few moments, the silence continued, until I stood. "Alright everyone- to positions. It's time." There was a little bit of hesitation, but after a short while, they one by one stood, ready and at attention, prepared. After a few more bits of preparation, we began to hike towards our usual place. You could tell we were there by the scorch marks on the ground. The scorch marks could also tell a person just how potentially dangerous inter-planar travel could be with the prototype. We didn't have much choice, unfortunately. We had to combat the Syndicate, and this, of all things, was our primitive- yet ultimate- weapon. So far, at least.

I pulled my goggles down over my face, and pulled the contraption out of my trench coat's pocket, before allowing the coat to fall down on the ground. It would only get in my way. I double checked, and everything was where it ought to have been- my SMG was strapped to my back, my pistols at my sides. After a deep breath, I braced myself, and I could hear the others do the same. My voice was clear and commanding. "Prepare for transport in three!" A collective intake of breath. "Two!" silence. "One!"

I pressed the blue button at the center of the contraption, and a blast of hot air hit our faces, pressure building in the area, making it feel as if we might be crushed. Before our very eyes, the air itself tore- and through it streamed smoke and light. The light soon dulled, however, as it was just an effect of space being ripped apart. Atomic particles seemed to enjoy glowing, when they weren't blowing up. I was the first to step through, and as always, I felt a little sick as I did so. The others were not far behind me.


	3. The Thing About Hare

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Upon entering Wonderland, Alice is disturbed to find that things are far worse than she'd been prepared for- and she learns a shocking secret about an ally.

Extra-planar travel, much like time travel, is not pleasant by absolutely any means. If I had to use a few words to describe it- excruciatingly horrible. Of course it would be my very luck that throughout my adventures, I would just so happen to be forced to travel both through time and space several times. It is my solemn wish as I write this down in you, my journal, that now that these events have all passed, I will never be forced to travel through anything ever again. I'd like very much to find myself a humble cottage on the Scottish shorelines, perhaps. In any case, we're not here to listen to me blather about my hopes and dreams.

Though the travel had been quite unpleasant, the sudden stop at the end of it all was equally as unpleasant. Bill stumbled forward and landed on his face, as the rest of us gathered our balance right before the impact. It felt as if the world had suddenly come up under our feet to greet us to the new place, but rather violently so. My ankles were already aching, and we hadn't even really begun the journey. I raised a fist up in the air, and waited for a few moments. My voice was but a whisper as I called out to the group- "Radios on." I waited, ears practically ringing as I waited to hear the tell-tale click that my order had been obeyed.

My eyes had only just adjusted to the difference in light levels here- or rather, to the difference in colors here. The thing was, Wonderland's coloring seemed to have a much brighter palette, and for a minute, I wondered if there were some colors here that I didn't even know the name of just yet. I realized then that it was rather interesting that for someone who spent so many years living in Wonderland, I certainly still did quite a bit of wondering.

Once the colors stopped hurting my head the way they were, I took a look around. From here, it seemed like things were still normal, that this was still the Wonderland that I'd come to know and love. There was, however, something in the air that told me I was dreadfully wrong. It was the sort of knowledge that made me feel as if my heart had made itself a home, deep in my stomach. I could tell the others were having similar feelings- it was dead quiet, where usually someone had some sort of smart crack to make about the situation.

The fist that had been previously held up in the air now motioned, pointing two fingers in either direction. Luckily for me, I'd lived here long enough to know just about where we were. This was near the edge of the Mock-Turtle's lake. To the east was the direction Team B was meant to go, and for a moment, I caught Hatter looking at me, before he nodded, and left with his group. I stood there for a moment, my brow furrowed, before I motioned to the southwest. This was the direction of the flower garden, and my group now made their way along, as planned.

After a while of trudging along, the twins couldn't keep quiet anymore, and began their usual system of banter. Catriona, the more rambunctious of the two, had trailed ahead of us. I'd always rather admired her, she was full of jokes and laughter where often the rest of us couldn't. Her hair was short- very short, a pixie cut that framed her face in a way that could only remind us all just how impish her very nature was. So there she was, practically dancing ahead of us, singing about everything she could. It was enough to make me want to smile, but I'd decided I'd done my fair share of smiling for the day- I think I remained expressionless.

At some point, she scooped up two twigs and held them to her head, and looked back at us. "Look at me, I'm the Queen of Hearts. These are my horns, you know, since I'm such a rampant bitch." Her own joke seemed to be quite funny to her, but to the rest of us, it was just like any of her other awful jokes. She had plenty of those littered amongst the actually good ones. Her brother was the least amused by all of this.

"Reckless. You're going to get us kill. There's loyalists out here, what if we got heard?" His tone with her was, as always, quite stern. It was astounding to me that they could have even been related, let alone twin siblings. That was, of course, aside from their looks. They were the spitting image of one another- aside from haircuts, that was. That, and Catriona was much prettier. We liked to call her our own little heart-breaker, but I don't really think that at any point in her life was she ever interested in romance. She enjoyed blowing things up far too much for any of that sort of thing.

In any case, the two of them continued to bicker as we travelled, and for no reason in particular other than the fact that I tended to be rather goal-oriented at times, I found myself once more at the head of the pack, leading the way in silence. I'd rather forgotten the sounds of everything around me, I was more interested in looking. There was a lot more overgrowth on the pathways than I remember. I figured it had something to do with the war that had been fought here. A feeling of guilt planted its seed in me, and it would be something I'd continue to think about for quite some time. Had I done something, anything, to stop my parents from creating the devices they'd created, or maybe, if I'd just stayed asleep in the coma, or maybe even, if I'd never left the house in the first place on the day I'd fallen into the rabbit hole in the first place.. maybe then the IPTD would never have been invented.

Maybe then, Wonderland would have never learned what wars were.

There was a hand on my shoulder, and a glance to the olive-toned flesh told me just who it was. His deep, smooth voice confirmed my suspicions. "You were shaking. You mustn't lose your head. The Gang will very much be on guard, and may attack if they can sense your weakness." I nodded, Cate was right. I furrowed my brow and cursed at myself under my breath. How had I managed to let my emotions get such a hold on me? I brushed his hand off, but he seemed to understand I wasn't meaning it to hurt him.

Eventually we had grown rather close to the place, and I motioned for everyone to stop. We made a small camp outside, just the few of us that were there, and we rested for the night. I found, as always, that sleep was not for me, that it wouldn't come tonight. I hoped, perhaps, once we'd gathered the gang, rest would come to me finally.

I stared for a long while off into the night, thinking about the last time I'd seen the flowers. I had been but a child. The flowers, lovely as they were, had been quite rude. They reminded me, in a way, of elitist ballet dancers, or perhaps of an opera troupe, proud and keen on themselves. The daisies had been particularly talkative, the tiger lily a pint bit sensitive, the rose a royal cunt, and violet just a plain old hag. Despite herself, I found myself laughing at the memory. I might not have been the most pleasant child myself- I certainly hadn't grown up to be a pleasant woman.

My laughter caught in my throat as I felt a stinging in my eyes for a moment. But there wasn't time for that, I had too much at stake here. WE had too much at stake here. My own pride wasn't rooted in just myself, it was also rooted in the hope I held for my fellow Resistance members. If I didn't keep myself together, how could I be absolutely certain that everyone else wouldn't keep sane. Everyone and everything was completely topsy turvy, and it always came back to me- the girl who wouldn't wake up.

I stood, and gently toed at each of my comrades, one by one, to wake them up. "It's time," I said simply. Most everyone woke just as I'd instructed, but Catriona was sure to voice her complaints, and made sure to request an extra ten minutes asleep. I payed it no mind- Seamus was sure to take care of her for me. Yet another morning began with the two of them bickering. It made me smile yet again, and I felt the cracking feeling. As always, the smile disappeared from my mouth.

"Ready?" Chess was looking my way, already standing at the edge of the garden's entrance.

I nodded.

"Remember now, Alice. Since the Otherplace's essence seeped here into Wonderland, most of us were forced to take on less-fanciful forms. I'm not sure if that applies to those still living here, but they may not at all be what you remembered them to be. Do be careful."  
Cate's always terse warnings reached my ears, but for once I didn't feel the need to call him an egghead.

I nodded again.

With that, the group started forward. This time, nobody ever really warmed up, this time, everyone was on their toes. My eyes glanced back and forth as I searched for any sign of the Rose Gang. There wasn't anything here, just dead leaves, and the smell of compost. I tucked the smell away in my mental vault full of things I didn't like the smell of, along with curry and plastic bags.

"Wait- do you hear that?" Seamus had grabbed my arm, and was pointing off to the east. From the direction that he was pointing came a soft sound, something that sounded too enchanting to possibly be something from the Otherplace. It was the sound of a soft, feminine voice singing. I glanced around to see what the general consensus was about the sound, and most if not everyone seemed to think it was very curious indeed.

"...Curiouser and curiouser…" I couldn't help myself, I began moving towards the sound, pushing aside a few reeds that had grown in the way of the path. Just beyond, there was a clearing. It was staged so perfectly, it might as well have been something out of a fairy tale. I wish now that I could have realized it had been a trap- mostly because it would turn out to be quite the devastatingly embarrassing defeat.

In any case, at the center of the clearing, there was more light than anywhere else, and so, naturally, my eyes were drawn to it. There, sitting on a log, was the loveliest, palest creature I ever did see, playing with her hair, and singing softly to herself. It was a nursery rhyme, if I remember correctly- there is, of course, the off chance that I'm not remembering correctly. What truly matters is that the girl was singing. And by girl, I mean quite a young thing, she couldn't have been more than ten years old. She wore a lovely dress. I was immediately struck with a sort of maternal fear that I hadn't felt before, and haven't yet felt since. What, exactly, was such an innocent child doing in a place like this?

I darted forward, forgetting myself, and grasped at her hands. "Look, you can come with us, little one. Did you come through the por-" my questions were cut short, as just before I could speak another word, I could feel the point of a dagger at the back of my neck. The expression on the little girl's face had gone rather emotionless and calculating. She stood, with more grace than what I've ever seen in my life.

"Hello. I'm White Rose. I'm sure you don't quite remember me, but I'm the seedling of the Red Rose." The little girl's voice greatly betrayed her features- and even itself. Though she sounded like a young girl, there was a sort of deep wisdom in her voice- she knew far too much at such a young age. "And I am sure you remember that the Red Rose was essentially our leader, for a good long time, until we stopped being flowers." The girl stood, and was now moving around me, as if I wasn't there. I too turned, and I could feel that whoever was behind me was also turning with me, so that I wouldn't make any sudden movements.

Rose was now standing on her tiptoes, examining Seamus and Catriona closely. "Tweedledum and Tweedledee? Interesting, the forms you two chose…" She straightened back up. "And you, Cheshire cat…" She looked at Chess. "You are not smiling quite as wide as I remember." She didn't have anything to say to Cate, instead turning on her heel and looking at me. "You are here for our help, I am guessing; but pray, do tell, why I would ever consider hiring out my gang to you, from the world that made Wonderland crumble, that made my petals go away?"

The fire that blazed in that girl's eyes sort of reminded me of the look a toddler got when you took their candy away. It was gone in a flash, which disturbed me once more. She was far too mature. "It will only get worse," I managed to say, though I'm certain my voice was far hoarser than I'd meant it to be- she didn't seem phased by my threat. "If we don't put a stop to the Syndicate, Wonderland could be captured, and other places destroyed too."

The girl didn't respond, but instead coughed into her fist casually. It was as if it had been a silently issued order for her own troops to show their faces. I recognized these faces, though now… now, they weren't the faces of the flowers I'd seen so long ago. Now they were the faces of highly skilled assassins, all beautiful in features, built to deceive and kill. I thought it was quite fascinating, and I still do. "As you can see, if you cross us at any time, you will find that we greatly outnumber you. You would be eliminated." The word 'eliminated' came out so coldly, so heartlessly.

"We wouldn't dream of it." It was a lame attempt, and the Rose seemed to think so too.

"Take them to the ring; I want to think this through. I will make my decision in the morning." With that, she turned, and her ring of followers dispersed to let her pass through. I nearly opened my mouth to protest, as we'd already waited outside for a night. Could we really afford to spend yet another night here? What if the others were already waiting at the portal? I realized quite quickly that protesting would do me, and the others, no good here. I motioned with one hand for my fellows to lower their weapons. It was with great hesitancy and general looks of annoyance on their faces, that they obeyed.

We were herded, like cattle, to a place that fit the description quite well. It was a giant circle of large boulder-like stones, with a fire pit, already ablaze, in the center. They pushed us inside of the ring, and a few guards took point at the four directions, north, east, west, and south. Not a word was spoken, yet somehow it was made perfectly clear that we were not to attempt in any way, shape, or form, to leave the circle, or rather, the ring. Again, I found, that despite my most earnest efforts to just sleep already, it was an impossible task. Though I couldn't force myself asleep, somehow my body just shut down. I had nightmares that night, and to this day I wish very much that insomnia would have stayed, instead.

I was awoken, in the morning, by the sound of a familiar rambling voice, and with a shake of the shoulder. "We'll be back later." I woke only to see the group I'd arrived with leave- and to see Team B- Bill, Hatter, Hare, Eddie, and James arrive- and they had a sweet-looking blonde woman with them. Hare perked as he saw where the others were going, and followed. For some reason, the guards look startled, but let him through. I had no idea what was going on, but I wasn't about to go asking questions. Instead, Hatter was quick to come to my side, answering the questions for me, as if he'd read my mind. Sometimes, when he was around, it didn't matter that I was so stubborn.

"His word will help, they're off to convince the Rose."  
I glanced up at him as he spoke, by now he'd removed his hat, and was running a hand through his hair. The hat was not off of his head for very long. I glanced over at the blonde with what might have been a curious expression, for my next question was answered without me voicing a word, too. "That's the form the White Rabbit took. Calls herself Bunny." I nodded, and then finally got a chance to voice one for myself.

"But why was Hare so interested in going with the others? He's a drunkard, he'll just make an ass of himself." My distaste for the fellow was no great secret, and nobody batted an eye at the question. They all seemed to know something I didn't. I noticed, for a moment, that a few of them were looking at Hatter now, almost expectantly. He looked… serious, for a moment, before speaking again.

"Once upon a time, a time, tick tock." I nearly told him to get on with it, but held my tongue, for his sake. "There was a man- or rather, a hare, Sergeant Harris O'Brian. He had a pretty little mouse-like wife, she loved tea, he loved his little Mouse. But then the wars came, when we started… losing our original shapes." He made a triangle with his fingers as he said the word 'shapes'. "I'm sure you remember that part. But you don't know the other part no. Harris marched into battle at the beginning of March, and at the end he marched out at the end of the next March. A whole year." That must have been why they called him the March Hare. "But when he marched home, he found his Mouse in her grave. She'd thrown herself into the sea, you see. Couldn't stand being without him."

As usual it almost seemed like the Hatter was speaking in riddles, but something seemed to click. He continued. "He Marched his way to the liquor store, and hasn't been the same since, no." There was a sadness in the Hatter's eyes. "Mouse, before she went for a swim, used to come here, to water the flowers, when they were still flowers. There's an allegiance between them. If anyone can make the flowers see, It's Hare." It was one of those startling moments of clarity, coming from the Hatter, and it caught me off guard.

It all made sense to me now- the violent whispers in the night, coming from Hare's direction, his slur, the way he'd always smelt like gunpowder and regret… it all pieced together. They had not been the actions of a lunatic or a drunkard, they were the actions of a soldier come home to nothing, a veteran lost in his thoughts. That day, I grew a great respect for Harris, as I now knew what his name was.

Hatter patted me on the back, and stood, returning to the rest of his team, as if our little exchange had never taken place. Only a few more minutes passed, and the sound of Rose's voice echoed out to us, and we all looked. She stood there, regal, yet so young, and spoke- "I have made my decision."


	4. Terms, Conditions, and a Rose.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rose and Alice have some discussing to do.

We all looked up at the young thing, each wondering, worried that she would say no. After all- despite her young appearance, we all knew she was deadly. Incredibly deadly. Dangerous, elite, probably a much capable fighter than we'd ever seen, even amongst our own ranks. This was why, of course, it was so imperative that we gained her trust, that we gained her alliance. The thing was, though we had brilliant fighters as far as guns and explosions went, we didn't have anyone who could attack from the shadows.

"It has come to my attention that Mister O'Brian happens to be be the husband of a dear friend of mine." The girl motioned towards Hare. I glanced over to Hatter, gauging his reaction- he didn't seem to have one, to be perfectly honest. Hare, however, looked as if he'd seen a ghost. "It is out of the memory of his wife that I've decided that we, the Roses, are indebted in a way to him." Her eyes turned, glancing at me. For such a young creature, she certainly had an intimidating presence. Her gaze felt as if it could bore a hole straight through me. "Any friend of Mister O'Brian's will be a friend of ours."

She did not smile, she did not show any sort of emotion, to show us that she was being sincere, and yet, somehow, I could tell she was telling the truth. The girl suddenly began to step forward, towards me. I looked down at her, hoping she wouldn't see it as an insult, as she was just that much shorter than me. I couldn't make eye contact any other way. Her voice continued on as she kept explaining her decision. "We will fight with you, Liddell. You see, aside from our allegiance to Miss Mouse O'Brian and her husband, we also hold an allegiance to Wonderland. It is my hope that through fighting for your cause, balance will return to this place, and that we may, someday, take back our original forms. We have terms, however."

I nodded. It made sense. Though I hadn't exactly pegged the flowers as a danger of any sort, I still understood that they would more than likely come with a price. My mouth was dry, and my voice cracked slightly as I responded. "Let's hear them, then. I'm sure we can come to some sort of agreement." The girl seemed to appreciate my answer, and nodded, before turning on her heel, motioning for me to follow.

"Bring the Caterpillar with you." I looked surprised, and so did the others in my party. Despite not being in his Wonderland form anymore, somehow, she had known that he was here with us. Perhaps that was one of the reasons she'd risen to the top of the Rose Gang, despite her young age. I began to be curious as to whether or not she was really as young as she looked. I motioned for Cate to follow me, and he did. We trailed after the girl, until she lead us back to the place I had originally found her, at the little log, where she'd been singing before.

I couldn't help myself, the question burst from my lips before I had a moment to contain myself and my curiosity. "Isn't it dangerous for you to sit out here by yourself? What if we'd been something else entirely?" Cate elbowed me in the side, but Rose didn't seem upset by my question- instead, she let out a good-natured laugh.

"I'm far more skilled than I look, Alice, believe me." I believed her. "That's not why we're here right now, though, I'm afraid. Please, sit." She motioned to the ground in front of her log, and from where she motioned, two toadstools grew from the ground, for us to make chairs of. We did, and she continued to speak. "As for my terms." She sat down on the log, and I thought to myself about how uncomfortable the piece of wood looked. I thought that it spoke numbers about what her personality was- she too had become a soldier in the circumstances that had come to be. It garnered more respect for her within me.

"They're quite simple. In fact, it's really only two terms. The first is that we'll be needing new weapons. Our blades are growing dull, and the Queen of Heart's castle has already been completely looted since her death. There's no weapons left there, and besides, the ones she had in her armory were mediocre, at best."

"Of course. We've been needing to restock on bullets and ammunition, we can finally put Bill to good use- I hear he forged the King's sword, a long time ago, and that it was one of the finest blades he'd ever seen." I heard a chuckle from next to me, and I glanced at Cate with a curious expression.

"You realize, that's the only reason the King and Queen kept him around?" Both Cate and Rose were laughing. I couldn't muster a laugh myself, I just didn't think it was quite as funny as they did. Then again, I'd never really found anything about the Queen of Heart's court to be too funny, given my past experiences with the horrid woman. Off with my head, indeed. It's probably why I didn't like Bill very much either… he'd been a part of my trial, and had been an idiot the entire ordeal.

"And your second term?" I think my voice may have come out slightly more terse than I had intended it to, thanks to my thoughts about the Queen. Both Cate and Rose hushed up rather quickly.

Rose looked at me for a good long while, and eventually sighed. "The thing is, I've discovered that despite our extraordinary fighting skills, we are not, in fact, invincible." She took in a deep breath and looked up at the sky. "We are fast, agile, and our blows are devastating. We are, however, still fragile, and injuries damage us far worse than others. There is hope for us, however." She looked back at me.

"Despite the fact that we do, in fact, die, we die a little bit differently than others do. When we die, we revert to seeds. Or rather, we have seeds, where human hearts should be. Our human forms never really did complete themselves. Now, what I have to ask of you is slightly gruesome, but please, for the sake of the garden, do this for us. If one of us falls, harvest that seed. Store it, and when you can, return to the garden and plant it. It's my hope that eventually we can grow again, the way we were before everything went so terribly wrong." She looked up at me, a hopeful expression in her eyes. For a moment, she actually looked like a child instead of an adult stuck in a child's body.

I hesitated for a moment. The idea of cutting open someone's chest to rip out their heart was a little brutal, even for someone like me. "...I'll do it." The words left my lips after a short while more of consideration. "But I can't guarantee that I can plant the seeds right away. You don't know what it's like in the Otherplace.'

Rose held up a hand, as if she was waving off my words. "But I know what it's like here." I glanced down, and she sighed. "So much has changed, Alice, since you left. When you woke up back to the Otherplace, we knew that something very wrong was happening. The skies got darker, and the Queen started acting much more… serious than usual. I'm sure Hatter and Cate have both told you about the war." I nodded.

According to the two of them, after I left, the Queen was furious; saying that I was once again avoiding my execution. I had thought, after all this time that my execution might have been forgotten about- but apparently my departure had made enough noise amongst the commonfolk of Wonderland that it eventually caught her attention too. In her rage that I had slipped, in her mind, permanently from her fingertips, she began instituting many new laws. The people had, after my presence, sort of built up a mind of their own now, they refused her terms.

There was, as a result, a civil war in Wonderland, and the Wonderland Revolutionaries, lead by Sargeant O'Brian, who I now knew was Hare, were in the end, the victors. The Queen met, according to Cate, just as wicked a fate as she was- Off with -her- head, it turned out. The damage in Wonderland, however, had been devastating. Where usually a Wonderlander just regenerated, for some reason, they weren't regenerating anymore. Mental scars remained, where usually, someone might have just become more whimsical.

It wasn't until I returned from the Otherplace to recruit my old friends to the Resistance that Cate and I had pieced together that the imbalance and the mortality from the Otherplace and other planes had seeped into Wonderland, thanks to the chaos my parents had inevitably brought about with their cursed inventions. We were still trying to piece together whether or not other planes had been equally affected by the disturbances in the fabrics of time and space, but we had a theory that most likely they had.

Rose's voice pulled me from my memories. "So, Miss Liddell. Do we have a deal?" I nodded, and put my hand out to her. She shook it, and I was surprised by how strong her grip was.

"Why did you have Cate come with us?" I asked curiously.

"I have a favor to ask of him, that I only trust you to hear." She was very short with her response to me, before she turned to look at him. "I need to know if you have any knowledge about the whereabouts of a particular weapon that I believe needs to be in her hands." She glanced at me for a moment.

I had no idea what they were talking about, but Cate seemed to understand right away. "...Do you really think the legends have anything to do with this?"

I furrowed my brow as Rose responded. "The tale of the Jabberwock has been passed down in the garden for centuries now. Think about the tale, Cate. Think about what happened last time it showed its face."

I felt like I should have known what a Jabberwock was, but to me, this was only more of that curious Wonderland-speak I'd grown so fond of as a girl. Cate was quiet for several moments before he glanced at me and responded. "...I don't know anything about its current whereabouts… but you could be right. I'll be sure to research it."

Rose seemed pleased with his answer, and turned to me with a smile- the first genuine smile I'd seen on her face since I'd met her. "That's that then. We should camp for the night before we return, so I can prepare the rest of the gang." I nodded, it made enough sense.

That night, I actually slept quite peacefully, I was far more comfortable, now that the Gang had been added to our numbers. They would be an invaluable part of the Resistance. The sneaky types, though hard to trust at times, would be perfect for getting us into the capital. We were one step closer to our goal- Defeating the Syndicate.


End file.
